Computer Power Measurement Device

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a computer power measurement device, which comprises: a first inductor connected power supply, and the first inductor is provided with a first DC equivalent resistance; a second inductor connected power consumption components, and the second inductor is provided with a second DC equivalent resistance; an input measurement module, which is connected to the first inductor, and measures the input power based on the first DC equivalent resistance; and, an output measurement module, which is connected to the second inductor, and measures the output power based on the second DC equivalent resistance.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This non-provisional application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) on Patent Application No(s). 096113246 filed in Taiwan, R.O.C. on2007 Apr. 14, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated byreference.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to a power measurement device, andparticularly to a computer power measurement device.

BACKGROUND

As for the operational speed of the computer is increasing, the powerconsumption is also increasing accordingly. Also, because theoperational speed of computer components is faster and faster, therequired power consumption is increased. The power supply is the powersource for computer. Because sometimes the output power from the powersupply could not afford the total requirement of the power consumptioncomponents in the computer, it will cause the system instability, andeven cause the damages to the power supply. Thus, there are manyinformation related manufacturers emphasizing the energy efficiency ofthe power supply, and there presented many devices and methods formeasuring computer performance.

The conventional measurement device for computer performance employs themethod for cascading an external resistor at one end of computer for theinput of the power supply, and by measuring the current and voltage forthe resistor to convert into the input power of the power supply. On theopposite, the end at the motherboard or other computer components, suchas CPU and memory, would be cascaded with an external resistoradditionally, and, similarly, by measuring the current and voltage forthe resistor to convert into the output power. However, either the powersupply or the computer components being cascaded with an externalresistor, it would have changed the original circuit structure of thecomputer device, and the additional external resistor would cause thevoltage drop at both ends of the resistor, and generate the excessenergy consumption. Therefore, the measured computer performance wouldhave lower precision, and limited reference value.

There is another kind of conventional measurement device for computerperformance, which emphasized for measuring the total output power ofthe power supply, and the measured resistance for the resistor would befar less than the impedance of the computer motherboard. However, themethod is required to add one more power adapter card between the powersupply and the motherboard; and, connecting the power supply to thepower adapter card, and connecting the power adapter card to themotherboard to supply the power for the computer operation; and, theresistor for power measurement is located on the power adapter card. Thedisadvantage for this method is that it is required to add a poweradapter card, which caused the increased cost.

SUMMARY

In view of these above-mentioned, the present invention provides acomputer power measurement device, which needs no additional cascadedexternal resistor, and would not change the original circuit structureof the computer device, and would not cause excess energy consumptioncausing errors on power measurement, and needs not to add a poweradapter card in the computer device, thus it would not increase theadditional cost.

The present invention provides a computer power measurement device,which comprises: a first inductor connected power supply, and the firstinductor is provided with a first DC equivalent resistance; a secondinductor connected power consumption components, and the second inductoris provided with a second DC equivalent resistance; an input measurementmodule, which is connected to the first inductor, and measures the inputpower based on the first DC equivalent resistance; and, an outputmeasurement module, which is connected to the second inductor, andmeasures the output power based on the second DC equivalent resistance.

The present invention also provides a computer power measurement device,which comprises: a motherboard, which includes at least one input unitand one output unit, and the input unit is electrically connected to theoutput unit, and each of the input units is connected to the powersupply, respectively, and the output unit is connected with a pluralityof energy consumption components; at least one impedance with one endconnected to the input unit, and the other end connected to the outputunit; a plurality of inductors, which are connected with the energyconsumption components, and each inductor is provided with a DCequivalent resistance; an input measurement module, which is connectedto the impedance, and measures the input power based on the resistanceof the impedance; and, an output measurement module, which is connectedto the inductor, and measures the output power supplied to each energyconsumption component based on the DC equivalent resistance of eachinductor.

The preferred embodiments and the effects related to the presentinvention are described associated with the figures as follows.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a first embodiment of the computer power measurement deviceaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a second embodiment of the computer power measurement deviceaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a third embodiment of the computer power measurement deviceaccording to the present invention; and,

FIG. 4 is a fourth embodiment of the computer power measurement deviceaccording to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIG. 1, it shows a first embodiment of the computer powermeasurement device according to the present invention. The computerpower measurement device according to the present invention comprises: afirst inductor 10, a second inductor 20, an input measurement module 30,and an output measurement module 40.

First, the left of FIG. 1 is configured with a PWM (Pulse WidthModulation) controller, in which two MOS switches and the PWM controllerare connected together. The main function of the PWM controller is tocontrol the high gate control signal (Ugate) and the low gate controlsignal (Lgate). Thus, the method could control the ON or OFF states forthe two MOS switches, so the power supply 12 could supply theelectricity to the energy consumption components 22. This kind of powersupply status belongs to the switch power. Under such state, the circuitbetween the power supply 12 and the PWM controller is provided with aninductor. Similarly, the circuit between the energy consumptioncomponents 22 and the PWM controller is also provided with an inductor,wherein the function of the inductor in the circuit could be used ascircuit isolation.

Based on the above description, the first inductor 10 is different fromthe cascaded external resistor in the prior art. The first inductor 10according to the present invention is the existing inductor in thecircuit of the computer device; wherein, the first inductor 10 isconnected to the power supply 12, and the first inductor 10 is providedwith a first DC equivalent resistance (DCR). The input measurementmodule 30 is connected to the first inductor 10, and measures the inputpower based on the first DC equivalent resistance. According to theOhm's rule V=IR, the first DC equivalent resistance (R) of the firstinductor 10 is known, and, by measuring the crossed voltage (V) at bothends of the first inductor 10, the current (I) from the power supply 12could be obtained. With the formula of power P=VI, the input powersupplied by the power supply 12 could be calculated. Because the firstinductor 10 is the existing inductor in the circuit, using the first DCequivalent resistance of the first inductor 10 itself for measuring theinput power would not like the prior art generating the excess energyconsumption due to the cascaded external resistor changing the existedcircuit structure. Thus, the input power measured by the computer powermeasurement device according to the present invention would be moreprecise than that measured by the measurement method in the prior art,and have simple circuit and lower cost.

Similarly, the second inductor 20 is also the existing inductor in thecircuit of the computer device, which is located at one end of theenergy consumption component 22; wherein, the second inductor 20 isconnected to the energy consumption component 22, and the secondinductor 20 is provided with a second DC equivalent resistance, in whichthe energy consumption components 22 are various power consumptioncomponents in the computer equipment, such as central processing unit(CPU), memory, south bridge chip or north bridge chip, and the like. Theoutput measurement module 40 is connected to the second inductor 20, andmeasures the output power based on the second DC equivalent resistance.The method for measuring the output power also employs the Ohm's rule,V=IR, and the second DC equivalent resistance (R) of the second inductor20 is known, so, by measuring the crossed voltage (V) at both ends ofthe second inductor 20, the current (I) outputted to the energyconsumption component 22 could be obtained. With the formula of PowerP=VI, the output power outputted to the energy consumption components 22could be calculated. Thus, with the second DC equivalent resistance ofthe second inductor 20 existed in the circuit for measuring the outputpower, the measured output power could be more precise than thatmeasured by the conventional method with cascaded external resistor.

Referring to FIG. 2, it shows a second embodiment of the computer powermeasurement device according to the present invention, in which theembodiment is added with a monitoring module 50. The monitoring module50 is connected to the input measurement module 30 and the outputmeasurement module 40 for displaying the input power and the outputpower. Thus, the input power measured and calculated by the inputmeasurement module 30, and the output power measured and calculated bythe output measurement module 40 could be displayed through themonitoring module 50. For example, the monitoring module 50 could be amonitor, and the computer user could easily obtain the input power for acertain energy consumption component 22, such as CPU, from the currentpower supply 12 on the monitor, and also the consumed power by theenergy consumption component 22 relatively. Therefore, the real-timeperformance of the power supply 12 and the energy consumption components22 could be obtained, and also be convenient for the user to understandthe level of electricity efficiency supplied to the energy consumptioncomponents 22 by power supply 12.

Referring to FIG. 3, it shows a third embodiment of the computer powermeasurement device according to the present invention, wherein thecomputer power measurement device is added with a motherboard 60 and animpedance 70.

In the third embodiment, the motherboard 60 comprises an input unit 62and an output unit 64; wherein, the input unit 62 and the output unit 64are electrically connected to each other, and the input unit isconnected to the power supply 12, and the output unit 64 is connected toa plurality of energy consumption components 22. The energy consumptioncomponents 22 are various components consuming power in the computerequipment, such as central processing unit (CPU), memory, south bridgechip or north bridge chip and the like. In the embodiment, the powersupply 12 is first connected to the input unit 62 on the motherboard 60,and employing the output unit 64 supplying the power of the power supply12 to all the energy consumption components 22 in the computer.

One end of the impedance 70 is connected to the input unit 62, and theother end is connected to the output unit 64. The input measurementmodule 30 is connected to both ends of the impedance 70, and measuresthe input power based on the resistance of the impedance 70. The methodfor measuring and calculating the input power by the input measurementmodule 30 is the same as the above, which would not be described herein.Because the impedance 70 is connected between the input unit 62 and theoutput unit 64, it is equivalent to endure the full power inputted fromthe power supply, so that the impedance 70 should be a high powerimpedance (with higher current capacity), and could employ the concreteresistor. Although the concrete resistor could endure higher power, theprecision of impedance is not sufficient. Instead of the concreteresistor, the impedance 70 could employ the Mn—Cu wire. Because theMn—Cu wire has the feature of fixed impedance, the input power measuredand calculated by the input measurement module 30 with the resistance ofMn—Cu wire could be more precise than that employing concrete resistor.

An inductor 80 is connected between each energy consumption component 22and the output unit 64, and each inductor is provided with a DCequivalent resistance; wherein, the inductor 80, as above mentioned, isalso the existing inductor in the circuit of the computer device. Theoutput measurement module 40 is connected at both ends of the inductor80, and measures the output power supplied to each power consumptioncomponent 22 based on the DC equivalent resistance of each inductor. Inthe embodiment, it also comprises a monitoring module 50 connected tothe input measurement module 30 and the output measurement module 40 fordisplaying the input power and the output power. The user could easilyunderstand if the output power provided by the entire power supply 12from the monitoring module 50 is enough to the usage of all energyconsumption components 22, which could prevent the insufficient power ofthe power supply 12, and influence on the computer stability. Becausethe output measurement module 40 has measured the output power for allenergy consumption components, the user could employ the monitoringmodule 50 to select and check the output power for different energyconsumption components 22, such as selecting CPU mode for obtaining theoutput power supplied to the CPU in real-time, and selecting memory modefor obtaining the output power supplied to the memory in real-time.

The difference of the third embodiment to the first embodiment is thatthe input power measured in the first embodiment is the input power ofthe power supply 12 for a certain single energy consumption component22, such as the input power of the power supply 12 to the CPUindividually. But, in the third embodiment, the measured input power isthe whole input power from the power supply 12 to the computer device.

Referring to FIG. 4, it is a fourth embodiment of the computer powermeasurement device according to the present invention. In theembodiment, the motherboard 60 comprises a plurality of input units 62,and each of the input units 62 is connected to a power supply 12,respectively. The object of having a plurality of power supplies is thatthe excess power supplies 12 could be used as redundant. Thus, theembodiment is provided with a switch module 90 additionally, which iselectrically connected to the monitoring module 50 and the plurality ofinput units 62. When the input power is less than the output power, itmeans that the originally connected power supply 12 could not afford thepower requirement of all energy consumption components 22 in thecomputer. At this time, there must be a new power source to supply tothe computer device in real-time, otherwise the computer device wouldcrash. Thus, under such circumstance, the switch module 90 would send anenable signal to activate another input unit 62 and another power supply12. Therefore, it could prevent the situation that because the powerconsumption of the energy consumption components 22 is too large tocause the computer crash or the damage to the power supply 12, so as tomaintain the stability of computer operation.

The present invention have been described in details with the preferredembodiments as above, and these disclosed embodiments are not used tolimit the scope of the present invention. Some alterations andmodifications can be made by the persons skilled in the art withoutdeparting the spirit of the present invention and these alterations andmodifications are all included in the scope of the present invention.Thus, the patent protection scope for the present invention should bedefined by the attached claims of the application.

1. A computer power measurement device, which comprises: a firstinductor, which is connected to a power supply, and the first inductoris provided with a first DC equivalent resistance; a second inductor,which is connected to an energy consumption component, and the secondinductor is provided with a second DC equivalent resistance; an inputmeasurement module, which is connected to the first inductor, andmeasures an input power based on the first DC equivalent resistance;and, an output measurement module, which is connected to the secondinductor, and measures an output power based on the second DC equivalentresistance.
 2. A computer power measurement device according to claim 1,wherein the energy consumption component is a central processing unit(CPU).
 3. A computer power measurement device according to claim 1,wherein the energy consumption component is a memory.
 4. A computerpower measurement device according to claim 1, wherein the energyconsumption component is a south bridge chip.
 5. A computer powermeasurement device according to claim 1, wherein the energy consumptioncomponent is a north bridge chip.
 6. A computer power measurement deviceaccording to claim 1, which further comprises a monitoring module, whichis connected to the input measurement module and the output measurementmodule for displaying the input power and the output power.
 7. Acomputer power measurement device, which comprises: a motherboard, whichincludes at least an input unit and an output unit, and the input unitis electrically connected to the output unit, and each of the inputunits is connected a power supply, respectively, and the output unit isconnected with a plurality of energy consumption components; at leastone impedance, with one end connected to the input unit and the otherend connected to the output unit; a plurality of inductors, which areconnected to these energy consumption components, respectively, and eachof the inductors is provided with a DC equivalent resistance; an inputmeasurement module, which is connected to the impedance, and measuresthe input power based on the resistance of the impedance; and, an outputmeasurement module, which is connected to the inductors, and measuresthe output power supplied to each energy consumption component based onthe DC equivalent resistance of each inductor.
 8. A computer powermeasurement device according to claim 7, wherein the energy consumptioncomponent is a central processing unit (CPU).
 9. A computer powermeasurement device according to claim 7, wherein the energy consumptioncomponent is a memory.
 10. A computer power measurement device accordingto claim 7, wherein the energy consumption component is a south bridgechip.
 11. A computer power measurement device according to claim 7,wherein the energy consumption component is a north bridge chip.
 12. Acomputer power measurement device according to claim 7, wherein theimpedance is a concrete resistor.
 13. A computer power measurementdevice according to claim 7, wherein the impedance is a Mn—Cu wire. 14.A computer power measurement device according to claim 7, which furthercomprises a monitoring module, which is connected to the inputmeasurement module and the output measurement module for displaying theinput power and the output power.
 15. A computer power measurementdevice according to claim 7, which further comprises a switch module,and when the input power is less than the output power, it could send anenable signal to activate another input unit and another power supply.